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Dwarves
(S. "Naugrim" 'Stunted-folk', also "Hadhodrim'', Khazad, "Nogothrim", "Nornhoth"; Q. "Kasallie", "Naukalie", "Nornalie"; Os. "Naugol"; rhov. "Dverger"; Orc."Gazat" L."kivi-väki")'' The Dwarves, or "Naugrim," were descendants of the Seven Fathers of the Khazâd, who were created by the Vala Aulë (The Smith) out of stone. Their seven lineages or houses settled in separate areas, but always in or by the mountains. All Dwarves considered mountains sacred. They also worshiped Aulë, whom they called "Mahal." Although fashioned by the Vala Aule before the awakening of Men, this hardy but short race came into Endor after the Secondborn, Long-lived yet mortal they remained apart from both Elves and Men. The Making of the Dwarves Eru alone had created the Flame Imperishable. In his thought, souls formed and life was born. Out of his Flame, spirits kindled. No life could be conceived without his leave, as Morgoth discovered. While life naturally fascinated the Valar, who were entrusted with cultivating the World, it first arose in Eru's mind and could not come to pass outside his plan. Nonetheless, the Vala Aule sought to create a living race, and he labored away from Aman, in secret, molding the Seven Fathers of Dwarves in a hall deep beneath the surface of Endor. In those days Aule endured torment, for the Smith understood that his conception was outside the scheme of the One; but he persevered and made his offspring strong, like the earth from which they came. Detailed Description Dwarves were rather short, stocky, and often had a swarthy or ruddy complexion. Males averaged about 4 to 5 feet in height. The western dwarves were often fair haired and fair skinned (especially the Firebeards were proud of their for the most fire-red hair) while their eastern brothers were often darker (particularly the Blacklocks).They grew long beards (foremost the Longbeard-tribe) which they often decorated or braided. Resistant to diseases and extremely strong, they lived an average of 150-250 years. Some rare exceptions reached the age of 400. The Naugrim had superior sight underground and in places of near total darkness. Their crafts were superb, and they were unsurpassed workers of stone. Like Orcs and Noldor, they were masters of metalwork, although Dwarven works embodied a sense of beauty as well as strength and utility. No race mined as well as Dwarves. Relatively infertile and slow to marry or reproduce (females constitute less than a third of their kind), Dwarves rarely sired young. But this seemed to be a condition of the later times of decline. In the earliest times there had been several Dwarven Families who were said to have had children in numbers of eight or seven, otherwise the dwarven race would not have been able to increase in numbers. Military The basical dwarven Host was called the Vabundhur consisting of arrays or Azashakur of medium armed Axemen, Spearmen, Halberdmen and Archers who were supported by light-armed Scouts, Rangers or Herdsmen armed with Bows and Axes and heavy armed Grimhammers wielding Thornhammers and Pikemen who fought in Phalanxes. Special Units were the different Guardian and Warden Units, the [[Dûm-garal, Gehil-vindhur, Tharkarul, and Huval-Vindhur. Iron-Guards were armed with light Axes and Dwarven Swords or Crossbows while Khazâd-Guards used heavy two-handed Axes. Halberdmen and Zealotic Shieldbreakers were special Units of Hammer-fighters. In Combat against underground Races as the Deep-Orcs and Cave-Trolls the Dwarves developed special tunnel-fighting teams or Vault Wardens, armed with long Spears and high Wall-shields, light and heavy ballistae and various mechanical War-Engines such as Battlewagons, Catapults and "Demolishers". Command-Units were led by Captains who were accompanied by Hornists, Shield-bearers and Standard-bearers. King's Champions fought with two Axes and were sided by two Heralds. Few Dwarven Tribes also deployed small Cavalry Units of Pony-Riders. Magic They knew of magic and certain enchantments, but generally scoffed at the ways of conjurers or the use of spells, preferring instead to use such power in the making of physical items and machinery or engines with near-magical Powers. However there were dwarven Alchemists, Seers and great Runesmiths and Runemasters and the Ironfists developed a special order of Earth-Readers. Great Technicians among the Khazâd who developed a deeper understanding and Knowledge of Machinery than any other People of Middle-Earth were known as Machine-Magicians or Dwarven Constructors. Known Dwarves Males Ai, Anar, Balin, Beli, Bifur, Bláin, Bofur, Bombur, Borin, Burin, Bruni, Dáin, Dori, Durin, Dwalin, Farin, Fíli, Flói, Frár, Frerin, Frór, Fundin, Gimli, Ginar, Glóin, Gróin, Grór, Hanar, Hepti, Iari, Kíli, Lófar, Lóni, Náin, Náli, Nár, Narvi, Niping, Nói, Nori, Núr, Nýrád, Óin, Ónar, Óri, Póri, Regin, Svior, Thorin, Thráin, Thrór, Veig, Vidar Females Ase, Astrid, Bergdis, Bodil, Dagna, Dis, Eir, Eydis, Frea, Fritha, Gard, Grid, Herja, Hón, Idúnn, Ingrid, Kára, Kóna, Már, Mist, Olrún, Onna, Ragni, Róta, Sigrún ,Var, Vigdis Tribes *Longbeards *Firebeards *Broadbeams *Ironfists *Stiffbeards *Blacklocks *Stonefoots Dwarven Religion The Dwarves revered Eru, the Allfather whom they called by a name kept secret among themselves. They revered the Valar as angelic powers, estimating Mahal, the Maker, highest. The Dwarves also saw their Work and Art as a dedication to the World itself and its maker. The non-official semi-divinity of the Valar had often been a matter of criticism by devout Dwarves who rejected all sorts of official priests, cults and clergy. However there was some degree of occult reverence and sanctuaries, as the famous Khalarazûm existed. Also famous ancestors were revered in Song and art. The Khazâd believed that after their dead their souls would travel to the Halls of Waiting and would be revived to fight in the Last Battle and help to rebuild the world after it. Language Among themselves the Dwarves spoke Khuzdul, their own language or used Agla, a secret language of signs and gestures. Among other peoples Dwarves adapted an outer language and also outer names (They never would reveal their true khuzdul name to non-dwarves), among Dúrin's Folk Rhovanian or Rhovanian Westron was the common outer speech while the Firebeards spoke southern Westron or Dunlendish and the Broadbeams northwestern Westron, Rhovanian or Labba. In the ancient days of the First Age both tribes had also used Sindarin as their outer language. The other four houses used the Easterling- or Haradrim Languages though they would adapt names shaped after those of the three western tribes when they came to their lands. (In the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit Movie trilogies the Dwarves speak with different British accents. Gloin, Gimli, Balin and Dwalin speak with Scottish or Irish accent while Thorin, Kili and Fili speak a more sophisticated Yorkshire or northern English accent while Dori and Ori speak a more urban English.) Exiled Dwarves There were three known clans of Wicked Dwarves who were not counted as Dwarves of the Seven Tribes anymore. Those were the Petty Dwarves, the Mornaugrim, and the Dourhands every clan having been exiled for a different crime and suffering a different fate. Dwarven Quotes *"A Dwarf is no horseman. It is orc-necks I would hew, not shave the scalps of Men" *"Axe or sword, what's your weapon of choice?" *"Curse his name, yes." *"Dark is the water of Kheled-zaram and cold are the springs of Kibil-nala." *"Give me your name, horse-master, and I will give you mine, and more besides..." *"Here is a thing unheard of! An Elf will go underground and a Dwarf dare not!" *"I go now to the halls of waiting to sit beside my fathers, until the world is renewed. Since I leave now all gold and silver, and go where it is of little worth, I wish to part in friendship from you, and I would take back my words and deeds at the Gate." *"I will not walk blindfold, like a beggar or a prisoner. And I am no spy. My folk have never had dealings with any of the servants of the Enemy. Neither have we done harm to the Elves. I am no more likely to betray you than Legolas, or any other of my companions." *"I will go forward free or I will go back and seek my own land, where I am known to be true of word, though I perish alone in the wilderness." * "Indeed it is time for sleep. Sleep! I feel the need of it, as never I thought any dwarf could." *"It is ever so with the things that Men begin: there is a frost in Spring, or a blight in Summer, and they fail of their promise." *It was not the fault of the Dwarves that the friendship waned" *"Khazâd! Khazâd ai Menu!" *"May your beard grow ever longer" *"May your beards never grow thin" *"No dwarf could be unmoved by such loveliness. None of Durin's race would mine those caves for stones or ore, not if diamonds and gold could be got there. Do you cut down groves of blossoming trees in the springtime for firewood?" *"O Kheled-zaram fair and wonderful! There lies the Crown of Durin till he wakes. Farewell!" *"So much for the legendary courtesy of the Elves!" *"There is the land where our fathers worked of old, and we have wrought the image of those mountains into many works of metal and of stone, and into many songs and tales." *"This is more to my liking! Ever my heart rises as we draw near the mountains. There is good rock here. This country has tough bones. I felt them in my feet as we came up from the dike. Give me a year and a hundred of my kin and I would make this a place that armies would break upon like water." *"Treasure it, Lady, in memory of your words to me at our first meeting. And if ever I return to the smithies of my home, it shall be set in imperishable crystal to be an heirloom of my house..." *"True words doubtless; yet all such comfort is cold. Memory is not what the heart desires. That is only a mirror, be it clear as Kheled-zaram. Or so says the heart of Gimli the Dwarf. Elves may see things otherwise. Indeed I have heard that for them memory is more like to the waking world than to a dream. Not so for Dwarves." *" “What have you to say, you descendant of rats?" *"Yet more fair is the living land of Lorien, and the Lady Galadriel is above all the jewels that lie beneath the earth!" Dwarven Delvings of Renown #Akhuzdah #Azagharbhun #Azanulinbar-Dum #Barazbizar #Bar Falin #Bâr-Shûal #Baraz-lagil #Barukkhizdín #Baruk-Zigil #Barazimabûl #Danuk-Khizdín #Erebor #Gabilgathol #Gamil-nâla #Gundabad #Khazadbizar #Khazad-Dûm #Khazad-Madûr #Kheled-Dûm #Kheled-nâla #Kheledkhizdín #Kibil-Tarag #Krath-Zabar #Mablâd-dûm #Makalkukhizdín #Merenost #Namagaluz #Nárad-dûm #Naragûl #Nargubraz #Nibbingrod #Nurunkizdin #Radimbragaz #Thakalgund #Thorin´s Halls #Thunderdwelling #Tumun-Gabil #Tumunamahal #Tumunzahar #Zahar-gamil #Zarak-Dûm #Zeleg-ubraz #Zirakbhund See *Axes of Nargubraz *the Barakûl *Barkashad *Dourhands *Dwarves of the Blue Mountains *Dwarves of the Grey Mountains *Dwarves of the Iron Hills *Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain *Stormbeard Clan *Ehazt *Firehorns *Ibûnites *the Lost Tribe of Da´n *Luinic Dwarves *Mornaugrim *Nomari *Petty dwarves *Ring of Power *Seven tribes *Shornbeards *Stoutaxes *Ta-Fa-Nilch *Umli References *Retrieved from http://www.kingtape.se/realmsofarda/index.php?title=Main_Page%7C Realms of Arda; original reference: *1Jeff J. Erwin, MERP Lindon *2ICE MERP 2003 *The One Ring Roleplaying: Adventurer's Companion Category:Dwarves Category:Peoples Category:Races